The Lost Girl
by SheWhoWalksUnseen1902
Summary: What if Valka hadn't just had one child, she had born twins, but one, she lost. After How To Train Your Dragon Two. Therewill be references to the shows as well.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Move that bucket or it'll be thrown at you. Better not let anyone see you up after your supposed to be asleep. The boats are arriving, you'd better make sure the men on board have plenty of mead."Her mistress called her to and from the well all morning before giving her further orders. "And if you let anyone see those bruises they'll be worse."

The Mistress's calmness was far more unnerving than her husbands shouts and slaps. "Yes mam." She replied, hesitating before taking out a tray with goblets to the other maids. She had been sold to the Mistress and her husband two months ago, and was already getting used to the rythym of life in her house. Wake up at before dawn, clean the fireplace, feed the animals, watch the drapery, dust her share of the large fortress, then make part of the breakfast, make the tea, get slapped by the Mistress if she didn't do it good enough, and then when the Mistress's husband got back he would beat her and ocassionally lock her up in the attic. Thus went the days of her life. Until the townspeople had heard that the chief of Berk and his heir would be coming to consider a peace treaty.

Then then her life got even worse. Dreadfully busy and filled with slaps and burns. Bruises on her mouth and hands were very hard to disguise, and many called her clumbsy. She had thought the Mistress was nice at first, her niavety striking when she had been kind and earned the 'favor' of the mistress. Before the night was up she had been sold to the Mistress as a slave, and now she had no choice but to serve the heard the trumpets sound the arrival of the Hooligans.

Henna calmed herself, taking deep breaths before she stepped out of the fortress to greet the other tribe. They weren't as ferocious looking as Berserkers but they still looked fierce.

"Welcome to Hysteria!" Her Mistress's husband bellowed as the boats docked. A crowd had gathered, with baked bread and smoked cod. But in the back of the crowd some armed men lingered, waiting to see if a scuffle would ensue. Her Mistress was the chief's wife, but more respected her than her husband, most calling him a foolish lout when he was too drunken to react.

A warrior with a bald head and had his long blonde mustache braided into two messy braids began announcing the chief, but what he said surprised Henna. She had heard of Stoic the Vast, all knew of him, but the warrior spoke a new name.

"Hiccup Haddock the Heroic, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe!"

After the viking finished, he stood aside to let the chief pass him and walk down the ramp onto the wooden dock. He had auburn hair and green eyes. His hair wasn't long like most of the vikings in her village, or the chief, but it was loose. He wore it shoulder-length and had uneven bangs that covered his forehead in an unobtrusive way. He wore fitting leather armor and even had a metal left leg.

Henna watched him in astonishment. He was the chiefs heir, but where was Stoic? She watched as a beautiful blonde shield maiden came up behind Hiccup, hooking her arm through his. She must be his wife or future wife. She wasn't surprised that he wasn't single. He was... handsome. But something in her made her not want him in a... certain way, she more like just wished he was her chief.

She heard gasps and heard the shouts of the men of the village. A huge dragon had temporarily blotted out the sun with its pair of wings. It roared and then landed on the dock beside the Hooligan ships. A beatiful woman delicately slid down one of the dragons four wings, walking over to Hiccup.

Henna watched the woman with interest before her eyes went to the dragon. It was beautiful, a red-brown color with blue on its spines, tail, and a streak of it across its chin. A beige colored its belly and dappled it's wings while a dull red exagerated it's catlike face. The dragon turned its golden eyes on her, noticing her examination. It narrowed its eyes, taking a deep whiff of the air around him before strolling over to the woman.

"Amazing..." She breathed. She had heard of the Hooligan tribe's power over the dragons, and their ability to ride them, but had never seen it done.

The Mistress's husband strutted over to where Hiccup and the woman stood, seeming happy that he stood a foot taller than the other chief. "Where is Stoic the Vast?"

Hiccup, apparently unfased by the other chief's stature replied calmly, "My father passed away in battle, I am now chief. I have come to discuss a peace treaty. Are you interested or not?"

The Mistress pushed her way though the crowd, touching her husband's tense arm, "We are interested. The whole Hysteria tribe is interested in an alliance."

"Peace treaty, not an alliance." The blonde woman spoke up, moving to Hiccup's other side.

Henna smiled, not often did someone call the Mistress out on her foolishness. Most were too afraid, some just didn't have the leisure to do so. That thought made her bring her hand to her back, where the scar remained. She brushed the thought out of her mind. Her beliefs had nothing to do with the situation.

The chiefs, their wives, and the woman who had ridden the dragon went inside of the feasting hall to discuss the peace treaty, and before long, a playful scuffle had started. Henna sighed, and weaved a tiny braid into her messy auburn hair. Most of her hair had been cut off halfhazardly as a punishment, but for some reason the Mistress had left a braidable portion uncut. That portion she had braided and it hung over her shoulder. The rest of her hair fell over her forehead and or tickled her neck and cheeks. She sneaked a look around, then started to slink into the shadows of the stone fortress. When she was sure no one was watching, she ran to where the back door to the feating hall was, and slowly opened it to where she could see part of what was going on and hear the conversation.

"No dragons will be trained here, I hope you understand that. My son has no desire for an armed ally." The woman who had ridden the dragon, and was Hiccup's mother, was speaking, a strand of her brown hair falling across her face.

"We understand." The Mistress sounded dissapointed, but tried to hide it with a smile.

"Then we can sign the treaty. You have read the terms of agreement?" Hiccup held the quill over the treaty, looking pointedfly at the Hysterian chief.

"I have read them and have signed the treaty, now you can too. And then you can leave, my men don't exactly fancy a dragon on the dock that they can't decapitate." Hiccup's mother stiffened at the chief's words, but stood up and left without a word.

Henna watched as the door to the feating hall closed behind her, and then slowly let the door close. She had seen what she needed to see, no more spying was necessary.

Silently, she ran around to the docks again, her deerskin boots helping her to not make a sound on the moist ground. The dragon was still there, enjoying a good scratch from his rider.

Whistling a soft tune, she pulled a piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil from a pocket in her leather jacket. Quickly, she drew a swift sketch of the beast, making sure to get the main shape before filling in the details.

"It's good." A snarky voice said behind her.

Henna whirled around, hiding the sketch and the pencil in her jacket. It was the blonde shield maiden. "Thank you." She said, trying to calm herself. If it had been one of her tribe, she would have been in serious trouble. They would probably assume that she had stolen the pencil and parchment.

"How did a serving girl learn that? Cause' the only person I've seen draw like that is my future husband." So Henna had been right, she was his future wife, but how did she get back here?

"I just learned. How did you... If you don't mind me asking how did you find me back here?"

"I saw someone open the door in the back of the feasting hall an followed your tracks over here after the meeting was over. Astrid Hofferson of the Hairy Hooligan tribe." Astrid held out her hand, gesturing for her to shake it.

"Henna." She replied, a little sorry that she had no title. She had been found by monks when she was little and raised in a monestary, than some traders had stolen her and sold her to the Hysteria tribe.

"Just Henna? I thought you were from here?" Astrid brushed her hair out of her eyes, placing a hand on her hip.

"I was raised in a monestary as a babe, I don't know who my family is." She mumbled the last part, her brown eyes traveling to her folded hands. This was an odd meeting. Most people didn't talk to her this way, most were cruel or dismissing. She rubbed her left foot over her right one, biting her lip. Was she supposed to say something?"

Astrid watched her behavior, eyes wide. "You were raised in a monestary, so did your mother die?"

"I never really asked, no one told me. All I know is that I was raised by fifteen old men and ten nuns... Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular... Just trying to make conversation. So, you like Valka's dragon, huh?" Atrid gestured to the dragon in the town square with her head.

"He's amazing..." Henna shuffled her feet some more, before slowly backing towards the village square, "I'm going to need to... Umm..."

"I've gotta go too. Don't get youself into trouble." Astrid said the last remark with a wink, and then strutted over to the boats, talking to Valka before returning to the hall. Henna watched her go, feeling a lightness in her heart she had not felt in a long while.

As day turned to night and night turned to morning Henna slowly realized that the Mistress had revised her husband's word, and that the Hooligans would be staying for another day. Relishing the thought of getting to see Astrid Hofferson again, Henna strolled through town, her duties in the fortress done. Feeling randomly brave, she walked over to where Hiccup's mother had made herself a temporary 'roost' next to her dragon on the dock.

"Did you name him?" Henna asked. Now that she had spoken, she noticed how big the dragon was, how at ease Valka seemed, and how small she was.

Valka looked her over before smiling, "Cloudjumper." The dragon rumbled at hearing his name, and placed his head next to his master's, looking Henna over.

Instinctively, Henna reached out a hand, but then hesitated.

"Go ahead." Valka spoke softly, her green eyes boring into her. Henna looked over at her before looking back at Cloudjumper. Her had a dumbfounded expression on his large face, nostrils wide as he took in her scent. She extended a hand, retracting the hand when he started to glare, his eyes widened again, and she slowly placed her hand in front of her. The dogs in the village never let her tough them unless they smelled her hand, while a dragon and a dog are very different, Henna desperately hoped that it would work.

The world seemed to become mute in the background, and all she could hear was her beating heart. Cloudjumper eyed her, before extending his head towards her and letting her touch his nose. She took a step closer to him, petting his scaly neck. She hadn't expected him to be warm, but he was, and in the cool fall air it was a welcome heat.

"Very good." Valka had moved behind her while she was stroking Cloudjumper, and Henna culd feel her eyes on her. Henna turned away from the drogon smelling her hair, brown eyes meeting green one's. "What's you name?" Henna opened her mouth to answer, but heard the Mistress calling for her angrily. Henna flinched, giving the drogon and his trainer an apolegetic look before running for her mistress.

A burning slap was her punishment for not being where she should be, and a harsh rebuke. Henna's beliefs told her that rebuke was good, but this was rebuke for something that wasn't there. She had been allowed her leave by the Mistress herself, and hadn't done anthing wrong by touching the dragon, but the Mistress had no recollection of any of that.

Henna walked toward's her room, head bowed so that no one else would know what had happened. Her face was swollen and sore, no doubt bruised. When in her room, alone she knelt in front of a small pail of water in the corner of her room. The lantern beside her made it possible for Henna to see her reflection, and, wincing as she did so, washed her face and hands in the water.

Lifting up a heartfelt prayer, Henna repeated the same words over again, "Deliver me from my affliction." she wanted a safe haven so desperately, and she had found one in the woods, but now she knew what she wanted. She wanted to fly away from Hysteria, far away. She knew where she would fly. Berk.

Astrid listened to Hiccup as he complained about the chief of Hysteria, not as unhappy about the treaty as he was. When he finished, she sat down next to him on their bed in the belly of their ship, putting her hand on his thigh. "Well you sound like your day sucked, mine wasn't all that terrible."

"Oh really, what did you do?" He unstrapped his prosthetic, setting it beside his armor before sprawling out on the bed.

Astrid huffed, unbraiding her blonde hair before she spoke, "Well, after you signed that, 'dreadful' treaty, I went out into the forest to find who was spying on us."

"Spying?" Hiccup propped himslef up on his elbows, green eyes lighting up in interest.

"Shut up and listen," She said semi-playfully, "So I followed her tracks, and found her-"

"Her?"

Astrid punched his chest, ignoring his ow. "She was drawing Cloudjumer, and I sware, she's better than you... almost. Probably not as good because she isn't always drawing dragons. So we talked for a little and I found out... well more like guessed that she's a serving girl in the fortress, and she told me that she was sold to the Hysteria tribe by traders. After that my day was pretty much the same as yours." Astrid layed down next to Hiccup, playing with a loose string on his shirt nonchalantly.

Hiccup watched her with a playful glint in his eyes before asking, "Did you even ask for her name?"

Astrid punched him again, "Her name was Henna." Hiccup's eyes seemed to glaze over, almost as if he was dreaming with his eyes open. "Hiccup?"

Starting, he looked over at her, "Wha...?" He suddnely seemed tired, as if he had been flying all day without a saddle. "I can't wait to go home." He blew out the lantern, plunging the room into darkness.


	2. How Did it Come to This?

Chapter 2

Henna nervously exited the fortress, overjoyed to see that the Hooligans hadn't left yet. She threw caution to the wind, running towards the dock. Her face wasn't as bruised as she thought it would be, and she didn't have light skin so it wasn't obvious she had been hit.

Cloudjumper snorted when she approached, and spread out all four of his wings before folding them up again. Valka was on one of the ships talking to Hiccup, not even turning her head to look at her dragon she was so enveloped in the conversation.

Stroking Cloudjumper's neck and face, she wondered at how amazing he was. So majestic and regal, and yet he allowed her to touch him and stroke him like a noble hound. Henna cocked her head to look at him better, and he cocked his head the other way, when she let outa giggle of excitement he chortled. At first it sounded like a growl, but then it sounded more like low laughter.

"Well look at you." Henna heard Astrid behind her, and could almost hear her friend's hands on her hips.

"Look at me..." She said in a low voice, head still cocked as she looked at Cloudjumper. She smiled, loving how he always seemed to be smiling, well... she had never seen him angry or distressed so she imagined that he didn't always look happy. Turning around, she felt disappointment seep into her at the sight of Astrid. She had her cloak on, and comfortable travel clothes. "So you're leaving?"

"Yeah, but hey, we'll be back a year from now, to renew the peace treaty." Astrid smiled, but then a frown replaced it. "Hey, who hit you?"

Henna blanched, she hadn't wanted anyone to know, especially not the Hooligans. If they found out how cruel the Mistress and her husband were they would probably nullify the peace treaty, and it would be Henna's fault. "No one hit me."

Astrid huffed, brushing Henna's hair away from her face, "Yeah right. That's a pretty big bruise."

"It doesn't matter..."

"Who hit you? I'll punch 'em back I promise." Astrid was gritting her teeth, and looked very ready to punch anyone, even the Mistress.

"It's nothing Astrid, don't worry about it." Henna didn't like the attention, and desperately wished she had a reason to leave, but that would make it worse. She couldn't lie, Astrid would know she was without a doubt.

Astrid threw her hands in the air, "It is a big deal! You're being abused! Who hit you? The chief? A man? Just tell me who did it and I'll show them not to do it anymore!" Astrid's yelling had attracted the attention of Hiccup and his mother, and the were now walking over to them.

"Let it go Astrid!" Henna yelled, a little louder than she'd intended, her hands balled into fists at her side.

"What's going on?" Valka demanded, trying to calm Cloudjumper, who by then was very distressed.

"Nothing is going on!" Henna insisted, placing her hands on her hips. Something she didn't do often because she didn't have as prominent hips as Astrid had.

Astrid walked over to Hiccup, pulling him over to Henna before brushing her hair back. "Something is definitely going on."

Henna pushed Astrid's hand away, not meeting her gaze nor her husband's. It was hard not to just tell them, if she did, they might just rescue her from the place she was in. But Henna had an inherited stubbornness, that's what the monks had called her determination and or refusal to give up.

"Henna?" Valka asked, "Is that your name?"

All the questions were starting to frustrate Henna, of course that was her name, and no she didn't want to talk about the bruises on her face. "Uh, yes." At least she could respond to that question.

"Who gave you that name? Where were you raised?" Valka's voice raised, and she took Henna's shoulders in her strong hands, whipping her around to face her. The woman's eyes were so wide that Henna could see her own brown eyes reflected in them.

"Mom." Hiccup placed a hand on his mother's shoulder, but she shook him off.

"I was raised by monks... My mother gave me that name before she died I guess... Why...?" Henna was concerned now, why did her name matter?

Valka let out a sigh, pulling her into a warm embrace, "I finally have my babies..." she muttered into Henna's hair, rocking her back and forth.

"Valka?" Gobber; the blonde announcer/warrior, had walked over to where Henna was awkwardly trapped in the woman's arms. "I think you're making the lass uncomfortable."

"Right..." Valka released Henna, holding her at arm's length, "Look at how you've grown..."

"Mom... What's going on?" Hiccup looked thoroughly confused and uncomfortable.

His mother looked at him, and then Henna before addressing the presence of all the other vikings. "You weren't an only child Hiccup, I... I gave Henna up to monks to spare her the pain of being married off before her time. She was so small..."

Henna watched Valka's eyes, she wasn't lying, or she didn't think she was. But... How? Henna stepped away from her 'mother'. "How do you know?" Now that she had spoken the answer was obvious, her and Hiccup looked like twins, both had the same auburn hair and freckles, both were about the same age Henna guessed, but there was one thing that didn't fit. Her eyes.

"Is this how you always work? Why didn't you say something?" Hiccup was close to yelling by now, glaring at his mother.

"I never thought I would see her again, it was for the best... I had the best intentions for both of you. Your father signed her away before she was born. I couldn't just stand by and watch. I did all of this before... Before I left."  
>Henna backed herself up against Cloudjumper, wishing she could just blend in to the dragon's beige scales. She had prayed for rescue, but this was not how she had wanted it. Or not how she thought she wanted it.<p>

"Henna..." Astrid said making her way over to her. Henna didn't need to be talked to, she needed to be alone. Very alone. Taking off into the forest wasn't hard once she'd gotten through the small crowd. She ran as fast as she could, paying no attention to Astrid's calls.

Pain bloomed into a small flower in her gut, and she doubled over due to the sharpness of it. Breathing as heavily as she could to regain her breath, she noticed the coolness of the air and how good it felt against her heated skin. Sighing, she took of her jacket, tying it around her waist before sit down on the forest floor with her back against an oak.

Her eyes closed, and she thought over everything that had transpired. It didn't make sense, and yet it did. Valka probably had shipped her off to the monastery with the best intentions, but it had caused her 'daughter' so much pain.

A low and menacing growl rose her from her thoughts, and she looked down to see a Terrible Terror scratching the ground and snorting in front of her. It was so small, and yet when one of them got angry enough it could cause a lot of damage.

"Do you think I'm just going insane? Or am I just in need of a family so bad that now that I have the option of having one I don't know how to accept it?" The terror cocked it's head at her, clearly confused. "Big question I know."

Henna watched it for a while longer before holding her hand out. The terror narrowed it's eyes, but then smelled her hand. Silence hung in the air, and then it slowly pressed the side of it's face into her arm before crawling into her lap.

Poor dragon probably hadn't been able to migrate to warmer lands, and was now in desperate need of warmth. Smiling to herself, Henna shifted and untied her jacket from around her waist. The terror sniffed it cautiously before letting her wrap him in it. His little breaths comforted her, a little reminder that she wasn't alone.


	3. Home

Chapter 3

Hiccup was angry and confused. Why was his mother always trying to get the most violent reaction out of her children?! Couldn't she just go look for them like a normal viking?

"Hiccup, your mom has a point. You've gotta give her that." He ignored his future wife, she was trying to calm him down, which was sensible, but he didn't want to calm down.

"You could've gone and found her! Why didn't you!?"

"I didn' want to bring her back before she was old enough to handle a marriage. Hiccup, your father made the marriage agreement with Oswald the Agreeable, and you know who his son is!" Valka hissed, a fire burning bright in her green eyes.

Hiccup had opened his mouth to retort but with her last remark it snapped shut. He rubbed his forehead before pressing his bangs off his face. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He finally asked with a heavy heart. He had known. He had known that something was different about Henna, he just couldn't place it.

"I didn't want you to be hurt. You had just lost your father... You didn't need to lose a sister you never knew on top of that." Valka pulled her son close to her, wrapping him in her arms. Henna was still her child, and he couldn't deny that Valka had acted on what she knew would be best. Sighing, he relaxed into his mother for a moment, before pulling out of her grasp so that he could confront the situation like the chief he was.

"Hiccup." Astrid put her hand on his arm, blue eyes searching his. "We need to find Henna."

Hiccup looked out to where he had seen her run off to. She had headed for the thick forest, and knowing Hysteria's forest she would not be easy to find. Part of him wanted to just let her come out on her own time, but the other half knew what she needed. She needed to feel wanted, to know that someone thought she was worth the search.

Setting his jaw he nodded firmly. He called a few curt orders to his men and told Gobber to make sure Astrid and Valka didn't follow him before he set off in search of the sister he had never known. The lost girl.

Henna's head lolled to the side and then she jolted awake. She hadn't noticed when she had started to doze off. The Blue Terror had made itself comfortable in her lap, warm breaths lulling her into a partial sleep.

The Terror grumbled before yawning. It sniffed at her chest, before sticking it's head back into the jacket nest she had made for it. Seeing the jacket reminded her how cold it was, and she quickly (and carefully) pulled the Terror out of her jacket and pulled it onto her. The Terror had done a very good job at warming the reindeer fur, and it had done a good job of warming the dragon.

It was only then that Henna noticed what had disturbed her from her sleep. She could hear someone's footsteps crackling leaves and twigs underfoot. The Terror growled low in it's throat, looking to her as if for permission to defend it's territory. Henna shook head in a 'no'. Before the 'someone' could get any closer Henna slowly started to sneak backward up the hill. She still couldn't see the person, but she just thoroughly hoped it wasn't Astrid. She was a good friend, but she was pushy.

The Terrible Terror followed her, gliding overhead a couple times before landing in a nearby tree. The crunching had stopped, and Henna began to feel her skin pricking as though she was being watched. Just then the Terror chortled down to her and she saw a flash of red hair cresting the hill.

Whoever it was, she didn't really feel like talking to them. Without another moment wasted she burst into a fullout run. Not stopping when she heard (of all people) Hiccup calling her name, she continued on at a steady run, ignoring it when her side started hurting. To her surprise the Terror followed her, not losing her when she ran in a few zigzags.

Finally, when she could no longer hear Hiccup, she stopped running. The little Terror glided easily to the ground, not even panting. Her throat hurt, and she struggled to take a breath.

"Huh..." She looked at the Terrible Terror, giving it a toothy grin as she did so.v"How about SwiftWings? Sound... good?" She continued to gasp for air, nodding in satisfaction when the Terror acknowledged his new name.

She didn't know how, but she knew it was male. She had seen male and female dragons before, and had learned to tell the difference by behavior. This little blue Terror was an obvious male by the way he had defended his territory.

"Henna!" Much to Henna's horror Hiccup had started to run after her, and had caught up to her. She couldn't run, she was far too exhausted to run any further. She would face him, and hope he didn't try to make her go back to the dock yet.

Hiccup came into view, bursting into the clearing she had stopped at before stopping. His breath caught in his throat, and he took a few gasps of air before speaking again. "If you try to run I will literally sit on you."

"You... Aren't... Much heavier than me." Henna straightened out, eyeing him suspiciously. She was still breathing heavily, but it wasn't as bad as she had been. "I really don't want to go back out there so don't try to make me."

Hiccup straightened up and evaluated her as well, "I wouldn't try to make you do anything." The watched each other for a moment longer before Henna relaxed enough to sit down next to SwiftWings.

"You're good at friends." Hiccup stated, not smiling at SwiftWings but not frowning at him either.

Henna looked at the sky before even bothering to reply. "Not really. I'm good with dragons though. Thought maybe I was special but I guess it's just a family trait." She knew that self-pity was a bad thing, it was disgusting, and she tried to shake it off. She would be fine.

"You are special."

"Don't try to spoon me that. We've only been related for an hour."

"You were timing?"

"Eh, maybe. Figured you might lose track of the time."

Hiccup laughed, a true one that made her want to laugh with him for an unknown reason. They were related, they were supposed to laugh together, but something held her back.

"What?"

He looked at her with deep green eyes like emeralds she had seen on the Mistress, "Are you always so cheeky?"

Ducking her head and blushing Henna looked away form him. She didn't always try to be cheeky, but whenever she got comfortable around someone she got that way.

It was odd. She knew why she didn't fully give in to this whole ordeal. Religion. She had been raised by monks and had been raised by a true way of life. But Hiccup and everyone around her believed in Odin and Frigga and all of the other Norse gods.

Hiccup frowned before coming over to sit next to her. SwiftWings growled at him, crawling into Henna's lap protectively. "What's wrong?"

She wanted to just forget everything she had learned and be bad and stupid, to believe everything that was a lie. To go against her religion. But she couldn't. She wouldn't. She could be Hiccup's sister, but she wouldn't denounce her faith.

"There are things that you and I can't change. Things between us that will forever keep us seperated. You and I can't be as close as we could've if Valka... Our mother... Hadn't let me go to the monestary." She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. "I am a Christian. I don't believe in Norse gods."

"What?" Hiccup recoiled, looking shocked. "No, no no... I mean, that's okay." He struggled to compose himself, but Henna could tell he was mentally trying to work out problems he would face with her.

"I..." Henna struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. Not sure how to respond to his outburst.

"I respect you." Was all he said at last. His green eyes searched her brown ones, the two siblings not breaking eye contact.

It brought tears to her eyes, she could feel her walls breaking down. A tear slid down her face. She wasn't afraid to cry, and she wasn't ashamed at how red her face got when she did, or how she usually was very hard to console; so without hesitation she leaned into Hiccup's chest and cried. She cried for many things, but mainly, she cried because for the first time in forever, someone accepted her.

Hiccup was no liar, and he honestly had no intention of lying to himself over the situation he had found himself in. She wouldn't fit in, she would be rejected because, as she had said she was a Christian.

As she cried into him he tried to think of what he would do. Many would look down upon Valka for giving her child to monks, but they wouldn't raise a riot knowing it was Stoic's child. Still, the tribe would be thoroughly displeased, and as chief he would be the one responsible for her.

If it was as simple as bringing her in and ignoring her faith and expecting her not to speak out about it Hiccup wouldn't be feeling the way he was.

There would be other issues no doubt, but his largest worry was the renewal of a long put-away peace treaty with the Berserker tribe.

The Berserkers would be the biggest problem. His mother had only briefly hinted at the deal his father had made with Oswald the Agreeable, but Hiccup understood what she had implied. It wasn't unlike his father to fortify two very powerful tribes by getting one of his children to marry and form a stronger alliance. Stoic had made a contract with Oswald that as soon as (or if) Henna came of age she and Oswald's son would wed.

Henna had been used as a sort of bargaining chip. And if the Berserkers realized that Valka had slighted them, and that Stoic's daughter had not died of sickness... there would be consequences.

Hiccup had also sent word to Dagur, Oswald's son and current chief, about renewing the peace treaty. Their fathers had taken pride in the 50 year long peace treaty they had made by the end of their days, and Hiccup wanted to renew the broken treaty.

The peace treaty had been nullified when Dagur had tried to kill Toothless and Hiccup. Stoic hadn't told Dagur about their dragons, and had kept the secret of the dragons with the Hooligans only. Reasonably, Dagur flew in to a rage when he discovered that he had been lied to, but he had unneccessarily tried to take Hiccup's life.

Hiccup furrowed his brows, he couldn't afford to postpone the renewal. It had waited long enough already.

It chilled Hiccup to the bone to think of what Henna would be like if she had persevered through the worst times with her husband... And what she would have to persevere through if Dagur ever found out that he was supposed to be her husband.

Her sobbing slowed, and she started to just sniffle and rock back and forth in his arms. She was kin, his kin. And would be treated as such. He wouldn't abandon her. He would, as a good chief does, take his own back to Berk, where he would try to work the major problems out with Gobber and Gothe.

"C'mon. Let's go back to the ships." He said, it was high time for the boats to head for Berk.

Henna glanced up at him, earth brown eyes still watery and red around the edges. "You're leaving." She said it as a statment.

"I do have a tribe to take care of..." He watched her little blue Terror before helping her to stand up with him. "And I was hoping you would come too. Astrid enjoys your company, and no matter what someone believes they should be with family."

Her eyes widened, and she looked quite like a deer when it noticed it was being watched. "You would take me with you?" When he nodded she jumped up and down, wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace. "My God truly does exist! He has given me the desires of my heart!"

After her animated exclamation, Henna proceded to drag him through the woods. Watching her little dragon as it led them back to where she had been hiding, she hummed a melody he didn't recognize.

He hadn't expected this response. Surely she at least would have shown some resistance. Being taken from one's only home, and then taken to a foreign place, and then whisked away somewhere else seemed very exciting.

Then it hit him. He had been an idiot. She had no family, and now that he had accepted her she was overjoyed. Now he could show her Berk! And she could meet Toothless!

Hiccup wondered how Toothless was doing. He thought about him often, but didn't feel sorry for himself not having his dragon. Toothless was the Alpha. And as Alpha had to care for all the other dragons. Which could be a very herculaine task. Toothless was needed by his kind to settle their own skirmishes.

They both let their hands fall to their sides, and started to walk, they didn't exactly have to run. No matter how much Hiccup wanted to go back to Berk. Hysteria was driving him crazy!

"Did you name your dragon?" Hiccup asked, narrowly avoiding a low-hanging branch. His leg was becoming a bother in the fallen leaves.

"Um, yes. SwiftWings." She sounded a little envious of her dragon as she watched him glide around easily in the cool air.

Henna felt suddenly very awkward. Was Hiccup purposefully looking so deep in thought because he wanted to ignore her. She knew it was silly to fret. Many would think her very silly for how she had acted when he had said she could come.

It was then that she heard the bustle of the dock, the shouts of the men waiting at harbor for their chief, the cry of a babe comforted in vain by it's mother. It was almost relieving to be back in the village.

She could finally get the whole issue with Astrid cleared up, and then, maybe she could work out a way to live comfortably with her new family and tribe.

Fingering the puckered scar she had on her lower back, she tried to forget her fears. "Family." She only had to whisper the word and then she fell back beside Hiccup. She knew it would look very weird for her to follow him around like a lost pup, but she did it anyways.

"You'll be fine." Henna vaguely wondered if Hiccup was talking to her or himself.

"Oh Henna!" A serving made named Rosita came out of the crowd to greet her. She eyed Hiccup in a hungry way but Henna ignored it. "You did it this time. The Mistress has been looking everywhere for you." She hissed the words.

Hiccup strode throught the crowd, bearing a sense of authority no one else in the crowd had. Henna stopped when he finally stepped into the clearing that had their mother, Cloudjumper, and Astrid.

"Hiccup! What took you so long." Astrid punched his stomach playfully, looking genuinely worried. "Did you find Henna?"

Henna bit her lip before stepping out into the little clearing. She went and hugged Astrid, smiling into the blonde's shoulder plates.

"I'm sorry I ran. I needed to get away to think. And..." She started, pulling away from Astrid as a sly smile crossed her face. "I still have to think about taking Hiccup up on an offer he had for me."

Astrid winked at Gobber who was in the crowd, and grinned at Henna. "What, I wonder, could I win if I bet that he offered for you to come to Berk?"

"Probably not much. It was obvious what the lad would do. She's kin!" Gobber came and placed an arm on each of the girls shoulders. It was wondrous to be accepted.

"What in the name of Odin is going on!?" The Mistress barged through the crowd, seething when she saw Henna and Astrid. "What in Frigga's name are you doing here!?" She screeched, nails out.

"I am going home with my family." Henna spoke calmly, althought she was seething on the inside. The Mistress seemed to shrink a couple inches though when Hiccup came and stood next to Henna.

Something in the Mistress's mind must have clicked for she seemed to be very faint. Before long, she had her own crowd of people about her, wondering when she would get up.

"Let's go home. But first," Everyone sighed when he said the last two words, "I must make a contract with the chief assuring that Henna is permitted to leave."

Hiccup seemed very unwilling to even stay on the dock, but he went and spoke to the chief, and then returned holding freshly inked paper.

Henna hovered next to Astrid, wondering if they would leave. Could she leave? Was it possible that she could be freed?

Hiccup took gestured for Henna and Astrid to come onto the ship, calling out orders as he went. Henna dodged a large dark-haired viking, ducking underneath two other men who were carrying a barrel of ale into the belly of the ship.

"C'mon, let's go home."


End file.
